Exercise is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and individual well-being. Accordingly, many individuals want to participate in an exercise program. The most successful exercise programs are ones tailored to a fitness level of an individual and aimed at assisting the individual to achieve one or more specific fitness or exercise goals.
Sports trainers, as well as other exercise and fitness professionals, are available to assist individuals in developing exercise programs appropriate for their individual fitness levels and their specific fitness or exercise goals. Hiring such professionals, however, can be expensive. Furthermore, the busy schedules of many individuals make it difficult for these individuals to set aside time to meet with an exercise and fitness professional on a routine basis. Thus, many individuals forego using the services of exercise and fitness professionals, and they never achieve the benefits that can be obtained from an exercise program tailored, for example, to one's fitness level.
Technology has resulted in the development of portable fitness monitoring devices capable of providing performance feedback to the individual during a physical activity. Some portable fitness monitoring devices are capable of transferring performance information obtained from an athlete during a workout to a remote computer for further analysis. These systems often provide a user interface on the portable fitness monitoring device and/or at the remote computer that allows the athlete or a third party user to review the athlete's past performance data.
As satellite navigational technology, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, has matured, location-aware electronics have been integrated into a number of different mobile platforms, such as automobiles, mobile telephones, two-way radios, and hand-held GPS receivers, in order to provide location information.
Portable and/or wireless electronic devices have also been developed or adapted for use in various commercial, personal or leisure activities to assist people in performing the activity and/or to enhance the enjoyment and/or efficiency of the activity. Such electronic devices may or may not be GPS-enabled.
What is needed are improved program products, methods, and systems for providing location-aware fitness monitoring services that will allow athletes to, among other things, stay motivated during their fitness activities, obtain more accurate location-based fitness information, receive substantially real-time location-based output, and/or compete in substantially real-time and/or time-shifted challenge races.